Mental Health Problems

Mental health problems basically refer to the psychological condition of the people’s mind which results in abnormal behaviours. It is indeed a psychological problem which potentially manifested through personal manners commonly associated with disability and distresses. This condition cannot be considered a part of normal development within the human culture. Mental health problems can be attributed to specific functioning of the parts or the whole brain, as well as the entire nervous system. There are various causes of mental health problems as portrayed by psychiatrists’ findings. The suitable treatment is offered by a variety of clinical health professionals. However, the main sorts of treatments are psychotherapy and psychiatric medication. In the minor cases, involuntary detention form of treatments may be administered if the laws allow. Mental problems can be accelerated by stigma and discrimination which further lead to social exclusion.

In this particular context, the paper seeks to address the value of diagnosis with respect to three mental disorders namely: anxiety, depression, as well as response to violence. To begin with, it is natural for everyone to feel considerably anxious over a certain issue. Anxiety can serve the right purpose or lead to the protracted decline in ability. Normal anxiety, for instance, serves the purpose and helps one to face a challenging situation. If someone suffers from an anxiety disorder, the condition may unboundedly disrupt the day to day operations and makes it extremely hard to cope with seemingly ordinary experiences. It is the most common of all mental health problems. There also exists a type of it known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). This form refers to a condition where people have an ‘eternal’ feeling of anxiety. Indeed, such people experience chronic panic and tensions with or without anything provoking them. Furthermore, the people with GAD always anticipate disaster. This form of disorder is often seen through certain physical symptoms like headache and irritability among other signs (Murphy & MIND, 2011).

Additionally, we have a mental disorder known as depression. In absolute terms, it is also a brain disorder characterized with sadness, feeling of worthlessness, imaginations of death and sometimes changes in weight among other features. Some of the effective treatments of depression include antidepressants, as well as talk therapy. Finally, another type of mental health problem is the response to violence. This clearly defines the manner in which an individual perceives an impending violent situation and reacts towards it. The extent and way of reaction in this case differs from one individual to another, depending on certain medical factors. In general, mental health problems vary from critical to mild features that can be quite disastrous to the individuals involved. In essence, the disorders may result in major accidents with the victim’s sub-consciousness to either themselves or the surroundings. Therefore, it is important to detect the presence of a mental disorder in other people particularly, in order to furbish necessary measures that can be taken to avert disasters that can result in from the victims’ misbehaviours (Heller & Gitterman, 2011).

The diagnosis of mental health problems in this paper will focus on the main occurrences that strike the victims of sexual violence in the resource-poor contexts. Basically, rape refers to any act of sex or unprecedented sexual comments and other actions that may be executed against an individuals’ sexuality through coercion and executed by anybody regardless of the relationship with the victim forms the root of defining rape. In essence, rape can be said to be a traumatic infringement of an individual. According to the World Health Organizations’ (WHO) report, women comprise the highest victims of rape (Kohen, 2000).

However, it acknowledges that men are also victimized and so they both undergo the same psychological trauma. The victims of such violence experience hardships in coping up with the situation. Indeed, the most immediate effects of the assault result in intense fear, helplessness, numbness and disbelief among other queer feelings. This experience also triggers other types of mental illness like escalating levels of anxiety, which equally damage the normal body functioning. It is also identified that the symptoms of rape violence increase in severity over the initial triple of weeks, while a decline resumes within the following three months after the occurrence of the incidence (Smith, 2008).

At times however, sexual violence may occur at an early stage in life. For instance, Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). This type of abuse is mainly associated with a number of mental health disorders, which takes the victim through a psychological torture throughout one’s lifetime if the right measures are not taken to avert it or if the sexual abuse involved the actual intercourse. As it applies to adults, the young victims of rape are subjected to a wide range of psychopathologies after the incidences. Such include depressions, dissociations and at times, heightened level of anxiety. In essence, both victims regardless of the age factor suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) have high risks of contracting other physical co-morbidities, including circulatory infections and bowel disorders, all of which lead to abnormal body functioning. These signs make some of the observable features that can distinguish the victims of such incidences (In Lang, 1958).

As a matter of fact, rape results in the psychological consequences due to sexual trauma within the survivors. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APS) report of 1994, the criteria of the diagnosis of PSTD is mainly through one on one exposure towards the actual traumatic incidences, which readily invokes horror and extreme fear among other symptoms. This also makes the victims adopt a lifestyle that shows an absolute and complete avoidance of anything associated with the traumatizing events. Recent studies however indicate that the number of women reported child sexual abuse has increased five times with PSTD diagnosis than the non victims of sexual abuse. Therefore, this study shows that sexual violence is a major cause of PSTD (Hurley, 1999).

Besides that, the survivors of sexual abuse are also likely to suffer from suicide due to high psychological affection in addition to high grief. Diagnostic indicators also show the cases of derailed abilities establish and sustain relationships. These diagnoses take the shape of clinical observations which shows that a considerable number of adults who are the victims of child sexual abuse have greater problems with handling relationships. In other instances, the survivors display queer behaviours or delicate sexual conducts such as promiscuity. These also form a background for a diagnosis of some psychological problems and therefore mental illnesses. Such victims may also portray queer coping strategy for protection against the trauma causing incidences like internal conflicts and unenthusiastic feelings.

However, the behaviours that the characters may expose with a view to put off the trauma causing agent may add more distress that anticipated. In this regard, the victims may go through the strange feelings that may lead to trance-like perceptions, where they will find themselves living in an unnatural world of their own. When these experiences intensify, the individual looses the moral and sometimes, the ability to perform any task or even socialize (Evans & Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, 2005).

Extreme cases of such experience may also be associated with the loss of normal personality, a condition known as Borderline Personality Disorder. This disorder is essentially characterized with maladaptive and rigid individual traits. Additionally, this disorder is featured by unstable relationships, objectives or even non-fatal suicidal conducts. Indeed, the diagnosis of the Borderline Personality Disorder has been indicatively so stigmatizing from the historical point of view. Besides that, it has also been said to be controversial in the sense that it implies flaws in the human personality which may be hard to change. Furthermore, stigma associated with this disorder accrues from the fact that the disorder is very hard to treat (Shore & Mannino, 1969).

The technical knowhow concerning the diagnosis of this disorder lies in early detection, as well as the use of specialized therapeutic treatments, one of which is Dialectical Behavior Therapy. However, it has also been observed recently that the survivors of Borderline Personality Disorders required the use of novel PSTD diagnosis known as Complex PSTD. The diagnosis of the latter included but not limited to behavioural features of BPD. The disorder is often characterized with symptoms relating to mood swings and alterations of consciousness of the victims. According to recent studies, women who have been victims of sexual violence at childhood stage met the criteria of diagnosis for both BPD and Complex PSTD. Consequently, this follows that the survivors can best be understood through common Complex PSTD diagnosis (Fontaine, 2003).

According to Crile, a psychiatric, pain is not only a disorder that displays itself out of accruing injury in the body. On the contrary, he argues that pain has a purpose accruing to it and demonstrates sheer emotions particularly fear and anxiety. According to the contemporary psychogenic trauma, where pain does not only refer to the physical injury but also the psychological experiences, in the most current observation by Freud however, the aspect of pain also encompasses anxiety which completes the entire cycle. For instance, fear is an emotive manifestation of memory of stimuli. On the other hand, anxiety is a loose memory of stimuli. Indeed, the anxiety basically denotes the position of an individual to envisage pain. It is not directed towards a threatening projection or objects and therefore can only be diagnosed in singular observation of traits displayed by the individual. In essence, if fear has nothing in externality to direct itself, then it becomes anxiety, a condition of nervous anticipation of mystery. In the modern psychiatry, anxiety is a function of injury, memory and also imagination, which can only be diagnosed through observation of the traumatogenic anxiety (Hicks, 2005).

Finally, depression is the last mental health problem most prevalent in virtually all age groups. Due to its general obviousness, the disorder often goes unheeded to the point of causing mayhem. In essence, doctors and other health specialists detect the presence of the problem through a series of questions; while at the same time may administer medical or psychological tests. Indeed, the tests or diagnoses involve processes that distinctively set apart other symptoms that could be potentially causing the symptoms. The diagnosis of depression may involve a number of processes which include physical examination, laboratory test, as well as psychological assessments (Baker & Velleman, 2007). Physical examinations may involve the checking of weights and major symptoms such as the rate of heartbeats, temperatures among others. On the other hand, the laboratory tests may involve the carrying out of blood tests commonly referred to as the Complete Blood Count (CBC). Besides that, the doctor may also test the functionality of the victim’s thyroid. Last in this context, a psychological test may also apply through an examination of the outstanding signs and engaging the patient in an interview pertaining to the thoughts and behaviours (Quigley, 2007).

The diagnostic criteria for depression requires that the patient must exhibit five major characteristics as spelt out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) which is published by the American Psychiatric Association and spread out within a span of two weeks. Such characteristics are lost interest in anything, depressed mood and unnecessary sadness; a drastic considerable loss of weight, insomnia and daily fatigue. Among other instances that may result in depression is an unanticipated divorce, exam failure, job loss and others.

In conclusion, mental health problems are often subjected to psychological dissatisfaction often triggered by the experiences in life. Hard or challenging situations are the causation of distress. The causes of mental health problems are diverse but closely related by being triggered by any of the five common senses. Despite the differences in the mode of occurrence of various types of mental disorders, the overall diagnostic approaches share the most similarities.